


Neon Green

by clarkjoekent



Series: Grandpa Shikaku AU [5]
Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bald Kankuro, Family Bonding, Grandpa Shikaku, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:20:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29853849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clarkjoekent/pseuds/clarkjoekent
Summary: Shinki and Shikadai are dropped off at their grandparent's house for another babysitting adventure.
Relationships: Nara Shikadai & Nara Shikaku, Nara Shikaku & Shinki, Nara Shikaku/Nara Yoshino, Nara Shikamaru/Temari
Series: Grandpa Shikaku AU [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2083575
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	Neon Green

**Author's Note:**

> I can't get old man Shikaku out of my head. I love him so much. Also I decided to throw my hat in the ring as to why Kank is bald. <3

Shikaku loved getting days off especially in the summer. He was like a cat, he would wake up from his warm bed and move to the backroom where he could bask in the sun that leaked through the biggest window in the house. Most of the time he would just sleep, sometimes he would read a book he’s been meaning to or play shogi. His favorite activity was just shutting his brain off and staring out to the back yard. It was too hot for him to go and garden in the afternoon so he waited until the evening. 

He’s had every day off for the last ten years and his routine hasn’t changed much. The only thing that has interrupted his days was his grandsons. 

Shikadai and Shinki were on their backs copying Shikaku, but the nervous energy was strong. 

“You know you two can go outside and play.” Shikaku chuckled softly. 

“Too hot.” Shikadai rolled over onto his stomach and rested his hand on his cheek. “Not Suna hot though. Konoha hot is thick and gross.” 

“I agree.” Shinki mumbled from the other side of Shikaku. 

“Well, you can read?” 

“I think I’ve read every book in this house Grandpa.” Shikadai huffed. He sounded like his father. 

“I am told by my Uncle Kankuro that if I read too much I will begin to dream in words.” Shinki copied Shikadai only he poked Shikaku’s side. “Do you have any books with graphics or images?” 

“Not any that would be okay for you to read.” Shikaku sighed and sat up. He needed to entertain them. He could tell they were bored. Yoshino left the house to shop with Temari and they would be back hopefully in an hour. Kankuro, Gaara, and Shikamaru were at a Kage meeting. They might be here later. Shikaku knew he had time to burn. 

“I don’t want to play shogi. It’s boring.” Shikadai eyed his grandfather. 

“Well, what do you want to do?” 

Shikadai crawled to Shinki and whispered something and both boys displayed a smile that made Shikaku want to run. 

“That’s a lot of grey hair you have. Why doesn’t Grandma have any?” 

Shikaku was surprised by the inquiry and a bit suspicious at where it was going. “She never ages.”

“Liar everyone ages. I saw Uncle Kankuro notice a grey hair and he shaved his head.” Shinki narrowed his eyes. 

“Okay, she dyes it.” Shikaku matched the tone. 

“Why?” Shikadai seemed genuinely curious. Shikaku sighed. 

“She doesn’t like how the grey looks that’s all.” Who was he to argue. He thought the grey was beautiful but it wasn’t his hair. He himself only had one thick stripe of grey on the left side of his head that went from temple to the ends. He knew he had silver strands littered throughout his thick and way too long ponytail but he didn’t care. 

His bones haven’t gotten frail, he is in great heath other than his old war wound. His right arm was broken in several pieces and one of the bones set wrong so he had a little painful reminder every once in a while. The hair is the only thing next to the small wrinkles near his eyes that proves he’s aging. 

It reminded him that he couldn’t do all the things he used to. It stopped him from making foolish decisions like staying as the Jonin Commander until Shikamaru had to drag his dead body out of the office chair. 

“Why don’t you dye yours?” 

“Because I like having different colored hair. Can’t dye over jet black.” He could lighten it but he thought his hair was too frail at this stage. He’s also witnessed the most recent bleach job on Inoichi, only Ino could save it. It put him off from doing anything damaging. 

“Why not choose a different color other than grey?” Shikadai’s smile went back to mischievous and now Shikaku saw the plan. 

“I never thought about doing a different color.” Shikaku wanted to knock the kids back so he jumped the gun and avoided another ‘why’ question. “What color do you want to dye my hair?” 

Shikadai and Shinki feigned shock at being accused. It was hilarious to see normally serious Shinki act like his grandson. The kid is rubbing off on him. It’s the same on the other side, Shikadai will start talking and a word will roll off his tongue and Shikaku would do a double take to ask him where he heard it from. If it sounded like a larger word it was usually from Shinki. 

“We were thinking green.” 

Green was tame. Unless it was neon green. Then there would be an issue. “Oh? What kind of green?” 

Shikadai was waiting for this question. He stood up and ran out of the sun room, fumbled with something in the bedroom, and then padded back to the room. He had a bottle of hair dye and Shikaku knew this was pre-planned and he squinted fiercely at the boys. 

“See, Mama was right. He’s too chicken.” Shikadai sighed dramatically as Shikaku swiped the bottle and rolled his eyes at the dye name - ‘Electro Green’.

He raised his brow at the idea of Temari calling the seasoned Jonin a chicken. “She said what?” 

“I put it in the cart and when she asked who it was for I told her it was for you. She laughed so hard it scared Dad and Uncle Kankuro. Then she said it’ll snow in Suna before you dye your hair green.” Shikadai crossed his arms and pouted. “She still bought it though.” 

Sounded enough like Temari for Shikaku to believe his scheming grandson. He looked at Shinki who was vibrating with excitement and Shikadai who had activated his puppy dog eyes. 

Shikaku wasn’t going to give in because they wanted it. 

He was going to do it out of spite. Temari doesn’t know about him dying his hair back when he was a rebellious teenager. He didn’t think at his age he should have neon colored hair but it sounded like fun. The bottle wasn’t nearly enough to cover all of his hair, but they could try. 

“Fine. To the bathroom.” Shikaku stood up and led the boys to the bathroom attachment in the master bedroom. It was a large enough space for them all to fit comfortably. He read the bottle and noticed it was more of a conditioner dye. 

So it won’t damage his hair. Solid plan. He had taken a shower in the morning and he didn't put product in his hair so he was set. He found an old t-shirt and put it on then went back into the bathroom. 

“Okay, you both are going to spot check. Got it?” 

Both boys nodded, their eyes as big as dinner plates. Shikaku chuckled and took his hair tie out. His hair cascaded down past his shoulders and to the small of his back. 

“Why is it so long?” Shinki took a bit of his hair in his hand, fascinated. 

“Oh it's a bet. Inoichi said I couldn’t grow my hair out.” Shikaku only had a few more weeks before he’d be able to cut it and get the money. This was another thing he was doing out of spite. Yoshino just rolled her eyes at it and moved on. 

He sectioned his hair and then put gloves on. The green looked like it could glow in the dark. He hoped that the green would cover the grey. With the knowledge that it was extremely hard to get color on grey hair he started at the strip on his left temple. He hit all the bigger grey pieces before doing what he could with the salt and pepper mix on the rest of his hair. The bottle was completely empty in twenty five minutes. 

The boys watched and asked a multitude of questions about how Shikaku knew how to dye hair. He claimed he helped Yoshino out, not wanting to spoil the kids’s fun. 

“Look good?” Shikaku knelt down and let the boys inspect his job. 

“Looks green.” Shikadai giggled. 

“It’s got to be in for an hour.” Shikaku put a shower cap on and cleaned up the green he got on his forehead. They wandered back into the sun room and the older Nara sat in the sun, letting the heat process his color faster. 

Shikadai went to the bookshelves and pulled a book off that caught his eye. It was a black book with nothing on the spine. Shikaku smiled knowing it was a photo album. He believed it was Temari and Shikamaru’s wedding album but most of the books Yoshino collected all looked the same. He opened the cover and grinned. 

Shikadai struggled to carry it over to his grandfather. Shinki took a seat on one side of the older man and Shikadai sat on the other. The kid placed the book on Shikaku’s lap. “Grandma looks so pretty.” 

The book was his own wedding album. It’s been years since he reminisced. He thumbed through the first few pages, the ones of friends and family. Shikamaru was a baby and Kakashi was in charge of varying him around. 

“Why is the Sixth Hokage holding Dad?” Shikadai wrinkled his nose in disbelief. 

“He is the son of my sensei, Sakumo. Yoshino and I trusted him to care for Shikamaru while the rest of us partied. Akimichi brew is the best and it was rare that Choza offered it.” Shikaku frowned at the question, he had to tell Shikadai more stories. 

“Why is Grandma wearing a suit at the party?” Shinki stopped Shikaku from turning the next page, pointing at Yoshino. The older Nara was still happy when Shinki called them his grandparents. They might not be biological but Gaara is like a son to Shikaku. By proxy Shinki is his grandson.

“Ah the attire we wore when we got married was heavy and it was a summer wedding. We took them off and chose something else to wear at the reception. Yoshino chose a suit. She looked really good. Still does.” 

“Gross. Dad says the same thing about Mama.” 

“That’s what love is, Shikadai.” Shikaku laughed. He turned the pages and the wedding morphed into old academy pictures. There was a picture of young InoShikaCho with Sakumo with a baby strapped to the older man’s chest. That was his favorite picture. Despite the fact that Kakashi is only six months old at most, he still managed to glare at the camera, letting the world know of his distaste.

An hour passed and Shikaku left the boys to the third album they pulled off the shelves to wash his hair. The green finally stopped and the water ran clear after several minutes. He towel dried it and then looked at his mirror. Much to his dismay the green completely covered the grey. It was brighter than a highlighter. 

He blow dried his hair until it’s silky and soft before throwing it up in a ponytail. He could see from the sunlight that peeked into the high bathroom window that the green got into the grey in the bulk of his hair, it gave off a dark green glow.

Shikaku padded back to the kids who giggled and squealed. “No way, it worked!” Shikadai bounded up to the older man and gawked. 

Just when Shikaku thought the whole situation was over he heard everyone arrive home. Temari and Yoshino were back from shopping and Shikamaru, Gaara, and Kankuro were back from a meeting. 

Shikadai and Shinki ran out to see their parents and Shikaku begrudgingly walked out behind them. 

“Mama you’re wrong! Grandpa did do it!” 

“Do what honey?” Temari wasn’t facing the hallway so she didn’t see Shikaku when he appeared. Instead she heard a gasp and a loud laugh from Shikamaru and Kankuro. She turned and screamed. “What did you do!?” 

Yoshino was too busy laughing to bother with shock. The only one who wasn’t laughing was Gaara, however, he did have a smile on his face. 

“Looks like the grandkids baited me.” Shikaku shrugged. 

“At least it’s not neon pink. That was a mess.” Yoshino finally got a hold of herself and placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder in an attempt at comfort. 

“Pink?” Shinki asked, disappointment on his face. 

“I dyed my hair all the time as a kid. Bleached it and then had a wild color every . This isn’t my first time doing something like this, sorry kids.” 

“But green? That’s a little bright for your age don’t you think?” Kankuro snorted, he was joking so Shikaku decided to joke back.

“Says the man that panicked at seeing a grey hair and shaved it all off.” Shikaku thought that everyone knew why Kankuro shaved his head. He was surprised at the shock both of Kankuro siblings had on their faces at the truth.

Temari slammed her hand on the counter top as if she won a battle and looked at Kankuro, she had a smirk on her face. “That’s why you did it!? Not because it was too hot in Suna? You saw grey?”

Kankuro eyed Shikaku and then Shinki. “Traitor.” The kids giggled and Kankuro sighed. He avoided his sister’s gaze the rest of the time.

“Either way I like it. It suits you Dad.” Shikamaru laughed. “Maybe you’ll start a new trend.” 

Shikaku shook his head, “I hope not. I like being the only highlighter in the village.” 

“Step aside because Metal and Boruto did a similar thing to Kakashi. His hair is purple.” Yoshino smirked. 

“Ah, so it’s an attack on us old people huh?” Shikaku crossed his arms. The kids just shrugged. 

“They must’ve overheard and decided to do the same.” Shikadai smiled. 

Regardless of how this plan turned out, Shikaku didn’t mind. He liked seeing something new and he was happy his grand kids had fun. He was the brunt of a lot of jokes for the rest of the night until, Kakashi swung by to drop off some paperwork for Gaara from the meeting and they lay into him instead. 

In Kakashi’s defense, he fell asleep and Gai was in on the joke.


End file.
